FIFA's ethics committee investigates Michel Platini and Sepp Blatter

Image: FIFA president Sepp Blatter (L) and UEFA president Michel Platini during the 65th FIFA Congress at Zurich

FIFA's ethics committee is investigating both Michel Platini and Sepp Blatter following the Swiss Attorney General's decision to launch criminal proceedings against the FIFA president.

It is understood the ethics committee is looking into the circumstances of a 2m Swiss franc (£1.35m) payment that Platini received in 2011 for work said to carried out more than nine years previously.

Swiss prosecutors opened criminal proceedings against Blatter on Friday and Platini was interviewed as a witness by officers from the Attorney General's office; both strenuously deny any wrongdoing.

FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali of Jordan, Platini's rival for the forthcoming presidential election, said the world governing body has been "shaken to its very core" by the recent scandals.

The chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association Gordon Taylor has said FIFA is not fit for practice, insisting "if it was a school, it would be under special measures".

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Taylor told Sky Sports News HQ: "This just shows that football might be the best game in the world but the governance is one of the worst. If it was a school it would be under special measures.

"It's not fit for practice at the moment. The biggest and best game in the world deserves better - and it's got to do better. There are enough ethical people out there to make sure the job's done properly.

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"We need to look at the people, transparency and governance. It needs a whole new broom from top to bottom."